Netanyahu heading back to Moscow to talk Syria with Putin

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Moscow next week for the second time this year to discuss developments in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin says.

The visit is scheduled for June 7, and will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of ties between Israel and post-Soviet Russia, according to Russian state news outlet TASS.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the two will discuss an “extensive” range of topics, most importantly Syria.

“Among the most important issues is the situation in Syria and around it as well as the current state and prospects of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement,” the Kremlin press service says, according to TASS.

The visit comes five days after Netanyahu announced that Putin had agreed to return an Israeli tank lost in a battle in Syria in 1982, in a sign of growing ties.

Netanyahu visited Moscow in April to discuss making sure the two countries do not get tangled up in Syria, where Russia has been supporting President Bashar Assad.

“During the forthcoming meeting it is planned to discuss the progress in implementing the agreements reached during Benjamin Netanyahu’s working visit to Moscow on April 21, 2016,” the press service says. “Special attention is expected to be paid to the topical issues of bilateral cooperation, including the prospects of further boosting the trade and economic cooperation, cultural and humanitarian ties.”